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The Cow, the Panpipes and the Peacock
How Io Became Isis
In ancient Egyptian mythology, Isis (also known as Aset) is the goddess of healing and magic, daughter of the earth (Geb) and sky (Nut). But according to Roman mythology, her origins are quite different: she was previously a mortal woman named Io.
This myth is found in Book I of Ovid’s Metamorphoses and is actually the first (though by no means the last) tale we have of Jupiter (Zeus) being unfaithful to his wife Juno (Hera).
Io’s Link to Daphne (I. 568–87)
Interestingly, the tale of Io begins at the end of the tale of Daphne. After being transformed into a laurel tree to escape being assaulted by Apollo, the local river gods are unsure whether they should be offering Daphne’s father congratulations or commiserations.
So even before the story begins, we are in a moment of uncertainty, a place in which we cannot be sure if the loss of the human form is a positive or negative for a woman pursued by the gods.
One river god does not come to Daphne’s father, for he is too busy mourning his own loss: that of his daughter Io. He does not know if she is alive or dead, only that she is gone.
